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This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival
material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are
physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available
through the World Wide Web. See the
section for more information.

Edward Babel began studying folklore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill in 1972. In 1975, Babel began conducting research for his thesis on the hammered
dulcimer tradition, particularly that of Randolph County, N.C. The collection includes
correspondence, photographs, audio tapes, and other materials, 1959-1980, relating
to Edward Babel's research on the hammered dulcimer. Most of the items relate to dulcimers
belonging to individuals, some of them musicians, or to museums. Included are a manuscript,
audio recordings, and photographs, 1975-1977, relating to Harvey Jones, a hammered
dulcimer player from Ramseur, N.C.; a manuscript and photographs, 1975, relating to
Mrs. James P. Johnson's dulcimer, which had belonged to her father, William Butler;
a manuscript and photographs, 1975, of a dulcimer belonging to the Old Salem, Inc.,
collection in Winston-Salem, N.C.; a manuscript and photograph, 1959-1975, relating
to the dulcimer belonging to Mrs. Artemus Ward; a manuscript and photographs, undated,
relating to the hammered dulcimer from the mid-19th century that was purchased by
folklorist Alan Jabbour from a woman in Coleridge, N.C.; a manuscript, photographs,
and audio recordings, 1975-1976, relating to Virgil Craven; and a manuscript and photographs,
1975, of a dulcimer on display at the North Carolina Division of Archives and History
in Raleigh, N.C. The Virgil Craven audio recordings are of jam sessions held at Craven's
home in Randolph County, N.C. They feature Virgil on hammered dulcimer, Lauchlin Shaw
on fiddle, Fred Olson on guitar, and Glenn Glass on banjo.

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants,
as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Provenance

Received from Daniel Patterson prior to 1990.

Sensitive Materials Statement

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or
confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy
laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. §
132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of
State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.).
Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to
identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent
of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under
common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's
private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable
person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no
responsibility.

The following terms from
Library of Congress Subject
Headings
suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the
entire collection; the terms do
not usually represent
discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or
items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's
online catalog.

Edward Babel grew up in Norwood, Mass., and attended Colgate University in Hamilton,
N.Y. He began studying folklore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
in 1972. In 1975, Babel began conducting research for his thesis on the hammered dulcimer
tradition, particularly that of Randolph County, N.C. Babel's thesis and hammered
dulcimer project was left unfinished when he withdrew from the Curriculum and enrolled
in nursing school.

Correspondence, photographs, audio tapes, and other materials, 1959-1980, relating
to Edward Babel's research on the hammered dulcimer. Most of the items relate to dulcimers belonging to individuals, some of them musicians, or to museums. Included are a manuscript, audio recordings, and photographs, 1975-1977,
relating to Harvey Jones, a hammered dulcimer player from Ramseur, N.C.; a manuscript and photographs, 1975, relating to Mrs. James P. Johnson's dulcimer, which had belonged to her father, William Butler; a manuscript and photographs, 1975, of a dulcimer belonging to the Old Salem, Inc., collection in Winston-Salem, N.C.; a manuscript and photograph, 1959-1975, relating to the dulcimer belonging to Mrs. Artemus Ward; a manuscript and photographs, undated, relating to the hammered dulcimer from the
mid-19th century that was purchased by folklorist Alan Jabbour from a woman in Coleridge, N.C.; a manuscript, photographs, and audio recordings, 1975-1976, relating to Virgil Craven; and a manuscript and photographs, 1975, of a dulcimer on display at the North Carolina Division of Archives and History in Raleigh, N.C. The Virgil Craven audio recordings are of jam sessions held at Craven's home in Randolph County, N.C.. They feature Virgil on hammered dulcimer, Lauchlin Shaw on fiddle, Fred Olson on guitar, and Glenn Glass on banjo.

Materials include a flyer designed by Ed Babel and correspondence concerning the Smith
Fund, which supported Babel's research; Babel and Daniel Patterson's letters about the donation of materials to the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill; letters from Fred Olson to Babel; and a letter from Barry Poss of County Records to Babel.

Edward Babel's hammered dulcimer research includes biographical and descriptive manuscripts and photographs (with
negatives) of dulcimers belonging to individuals or museums. Also included are audio tapes of musicians playing dulcimers.

Manuscript and photograph relating to the dulcimer belonging to Mrs. Artemus Ward. The photograph of Mrs. Ward playing the hammered dulcimer is a copy of a photo featured
in "The State" magazine in February 1959. Mrs. Ward lived near Seagrove, N.C., and had died by the time that Babel did his research. Babel gathered information
from her son.

Manuscript, photographs, and audio recordings relating to Virgil Craven. The audio recordings are of jam sessions held at Craven's home in Randolph County, N.C.. They feature Virgil on hammered dulcimer, Lauchlin Shaw on fiddle, Fred Olson on guitar, and Glenn Glass on banjo. Photographs are of these sessions, Virgil Craven playing solo dulcimer, his dulcimer,
his songbook, and his grandfather's dulcimer.

Manuscript and photographs of a dulcimer on display at the North Carolina Division of Archives and History in Raleigh, N.C. The dulcimer was made by Jim Jennings of Cedar Falls, N.C., and donated to the museum by Mrs. Rainey Hawkins of Mebane, N.C.